Nestor Molina RHP White Sox – age 23– Leading the SL in walk rate with just a 3.2%. He was the key piece to the Sergio Santos deal and will need to up the K rate some if he’s going to be that mid rotation starter the Sox hoped they were getting. He has excellent command of his pitch arsenal. Can he be dominant? One answer to many questions is that he is a SP long term. But where does he slot?

Jose Quintana LHP White Sox – age 23 – Another lesser known arm. This lefty has struck out 26 in 35.1 IP with a 3.03 ERA. The production is there for the southpaw and he’s walked just 7.3% of hitters. He’s bounced from the Mets to the Yankees and now with the White Sox he may be poised tos tep forward as a SP option.

Andre Rienzo, RHP White Sox – Age 23 – Rienzo has toiled around the White Sox organization since signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2006. He’s been effective, yet not dominant in his 5 seasons of professional ball. In his first go round in the Carolina League he went 6-5 with a 3.41 ERA and 118/66 K/BB ratio for 2011. The walks were concerning to us, coupled with the fact he gave up 108 hits. He’s lucky his ERA wasn’t much higher. Pan forward to 2012 and he was off to a 3-0 start with a 1.08 ERA a 31/7 K/BB ratio over 25 innings. Throw in just 17 hits and he’s got a sub 1.00 WHIP. Sadly, He’s been suspended for 50 games for violating Minor League Baseball’s drug prevention and treatment program.

May 5, 2012

… The 23-year-old with top-of-the-rotation stuff had his first foray as a starter cut short on Friday, when manager Robin Ventura announced that an organizational decision was made to move the southpaw back into the bullpen. Sale was experiencing soreness in his arm, but as Sale admitted Saturday, he thought it was just normal soreness from his move to a starter.

“Like I said, it’s just tender. It doesn’t hurt when I throw. It’s tender to touch and it takes a little bit to get loosened up,” Sale said. “I thought it was just soreness. It was just sore to me and doesn’t hurt or anything.

“They thought it might trickle into something else. I didn’t see that at all. I just saw it as typical soreness after throwing. Like I said, those guys know what they are doing. They’ve been there and done that. You have to listen to them.”

No MRI was done on Sale’s elbow, and Sale doesn’t believe his unique pitching style or mechanics have anything to do with the soreness. He has been pitching the same way since college.

A decision also was made that a trip to the disabled list was not needed. It was simply about managing Sale’s workload, which the White Sox believe is easier to do with him coming out of the bullpen. …

Chris Sale’s time as a starting pitcher lasted one month and 32 innings.

But the White Sox view the left-hander’s move from the rotation to the team’s closer, as announced by manager Robin Ventura prior to Friday’s series opener in Detroit, not as a disappointment but more as a move to preserve Sale’s career.

The 23-year-old had been experiencing a mixture of soreness and tightness in his pitching elbow, according to Ventura. So Ventura met with Sale on Friday and the decision was made.

Sale left the meeting wearing a compression sleeve on his elbow. He elected not to comment pregame. Sale has said before that he enjoys the thrill of closing but has always felt more comfortable as a starter.

As Ventura pointed out, Sale is not hurt and still could probably go out and start. Ventura added that Sale is tough enough to handle the starting rigors, but Ventura would feel terrible if Sale got hurt in the process.

“It’s not disappointing to us,” said White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper of the change. “It’s disappointing to him because this was something that he’s always wanted to do.”

In what could be his first and only year as a starter, Sale has a 3-1 record with a 2.89 ERA during five trips to the mound, with 29 strikeouts and eight walks over those 32 innings. He threw at least 100 pitches in each of his first four starts, before being pulled with 88 pitches after six innings against Cleveland on Tuesday.

… This Sale move obviously affects alignment for the rest of the staff. Hector Santiago, who recorded four saves as the White Sox closer, will move into a middle-relief role with the South Siders now having four left-handers in the bullpen. Dylan Axelrod gets the start in Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers and will have the first chance to hold on to that fifth spot.

… There wasn’t a complete feeling of permanence with this Sale move, as both Cooper and Ventura espoused a “never say never” attitude. But the 13th pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, who had a 2.58 ERA over 79 career relief appearances coming into the 2012 campaign, not to mention 12 saves, will be the White Sox closer for the foreseeable future.

“He is much more important to the White Sox organization with a uniform on and pitching,” Cooper said. “And we are not going to put that at a greater risk, or jeopardize that.”

“It’s not disappointing to us, it’s disappointing to him because this was something he’s always wanted to do,” pitching coach Don Cooper said before the Sox’ game at Detroit Friday. “We’re not making this decision based on what’s best for the team because obviously he’s starting and doing well and that would be a wonderful thing to keep him in. We feel we’re doing what’s best for him, his career and his health. It’s the best way to keep him healthy and strong.”

“It’s easier to maintain that and keeping tabs on this in the bullpen than it is as a starter,” Cooper said. “We already know he’s a good left-handed reliever. That’s been proven over the past 1 ½ years. Now we’ll be trying to make him one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball, not just in the American League. That’s all we’re at with it. Chris is going to be fine. He was upset. He wanted to continue to do this. But sometimes we have to make decisions based upon what we feel is best for that individual, and that’s what we did.” …

When I first saw the headline I said ‘dammit, don’t these knuckleheads understand that he’s more valuable as a starter?’ After reading the whole article though I’m convinced this is no ‘we’re desperate for a closer’ move and I’m scared beyond words. Merkin’s article sounds horrible. Cooper’s quote is as scary as it gets.

Support for struggling White Sox infielders Gordon Beckham and Brent Morel continued to come in Tuesday from manager Robin Ventura.

But as the calendar turns from April to May and with Morel (.182) and Beckham (.190) sitting a few games of consistent hitting below the Mendoza line, even following Beckham’s three-hit effort in Tuesday’s 7-2 victory over the Indians, that unconditional support from Ventura soon might be slightly altered.”Eventually you probably have to do something,” said Ventura before the series opener with the Indians. “Right now I’m believing what I see and talking to them.

“I want to know what they’re thinking, too. I’m still confident they’re going to perform. Eventually it gets to the point where you would have to make a move if it would stay like that, but right now I’m not going to do that.” …

According to the raw neutrality of the win probability chart, the Seattle Mariners actually had a chance to win the game last Saturday:

But it did not know — nor did the players know — what day it was. A.J. Pierzynski did not realize the significance of that first pitch, sailing wide to his glove side. Philip Humber may have even felt a twinge of frustration as that first toss missed so poorly. And Paul Konerkohad no way of knowing what he started when he took that first grounder and tossed it to Humber for out number one.

… This time, the White Sox grabbed him, and teaming up with Don Cooper in Chicago has been the best thing that ever happened to his career.

… When Humber got to Chicago, he threw what he referred to as a cutter, even though Pitch F/x called it a slider. Cooper didn’t like the pitch, and instead suggested Humber move to a more traditional slider with harder breaking action. The differences are pretty striking.Here’s Humber’s game chart from his April 9th, 2011 start against Tampa Bay. …